The Pterodactyl snapped at the
injured baby Ankylosaurus with its long jaws.The Ankylosaurus tried to fend off the Pterodactyl with a blow from its
clubbed tail but missed.It was just a
matter of time, however, before the baby would be too weak to be any kind of
threat.The Pterodactyl swooped in the
air and went in for a final attack.

Just when it seemed the poor baby
Ankylosaurus was doomed to die there came a tremendous roar from the
jungle.Crashing through the
prehistoric trees came the huge mother Ankylosaurus.

Ten year
old Tommy Barker looked around on the floor where his toy dinosaurs were
scattered.Where was his mother
Ankylosaurus?He thought for a moment
and remembered seeing it on his desk just before his mother had asked him to
clean his room.There were now only two
places it could be; under his bed or in his closet.

Tommy crawled over to his bed and
poking his head under, various objects
began to take shape in the dim darkness.First a sock, then a pack of bubble gum, a couple of action figures,
some building blocks and an assortment of trading cards... but no mother
Ankylosaurus.

“Hum,” said Tommy getting to his
feet and walking to his closet.As he
opened the closet door something brushed against the top of his head.Tommy looked up and was startled to see some
large green leaves sticking out from the closet.Why was there a plant in his closet?Tommy knew he hadn’t put it there, so who did?Maybe, someone from his family put it there.His father was at work so that left his
mother and his brother.“Hum,” said
Tommy again.He would just have to find
them and ask.Tommy left his room and
headed for the backyard.

“Mom!Mom!” Yelled Tommy as he ran across the lawn towards his mother.

“What is it?” asked Mrs. Barker.

“Did you put a plant in my closet?”
asked Tommy.

Mrs. Barker looked rather surprised.“No, I didn’t,” she replied.“Why?”

“Well,” said Tommy.“There’s a plant in my closet and I thought
you might have put it there.”

Mrs. Barker smiled.She knew her son had a vivid
imagination.He was probably pretending
there was a jungle in his closet.“Well, just don’t let it grow all over the house,” she said and went
back to weeding the garden.

Tommy was still puzzled.As he walked back into the house, he decided
to find his older brother Jason and ask him.Jason was two years older than Tommy.Hiding plants in your closet was just the kind of thing a brother would
do.It was probably some kind of
carnivorous plant that would devour him when he went to hang up his
clothes!Tommy found Jason in the
garage fixing his bike.

Jason looked up and saw his little
brother walking towards him.“What can
I do for you Squirt?” he said.

For as long as Tommy could remember
Jason had always called him Squirt.It
wasn’t that Tommy was small for his age, it was just that he wasn’t as tall as
Jason and he never let him forget it.Other than the age and height difference both boys had the same short
wavy brown hair and big blue eyes.Tommy was a bright and curious child who loved to use his imagination
whenever possible.Jason, on the other
hand, was a little more serious, but always looked out for his little
brother.Tommy dreamed of the day when
he would be bigger than Jason and could call him Squirt!

Tommy sighed impatiently and
repeated the question.“I said, did you
put a carnivorous plant in my closet?”

Jason burst out laughing.“Yeah, course I did!” he giggled.“And your underwear drawer is full of
poisonous snakes!”Jason laughed
louder.He was still laughing when
Tommy left the garage.

So it wasn’t Jason either.But the question still remained... who put
the plant in his closet?Tommy went up
to his room and opened the closet door again.The leaves were still there.He
backed away and thought for a moment.Well, he wasn’t about to let his room be turned into a green house.He would have to get rid of it himself.Tommy reached into the closet and felt around
for the light switch but it wasn’t there.Huh, he thought, that’s funny.He walked to his desk and found his flashlight.Something very strange was going on
here.Tommy went back to his closet and
stepped inside.

It was very dark.Tommy switched on the flashlight and shone
it around him.Where were his clothes
and his toys?Everything was gone!The only thing in his closet now was a bunch
of plants with big leaves.Tommy
pointed the flashlight at what he thought was the closet floor but found the
carpet was gone too.It had been
replaced with dirt.This was very
curious indeed.Pointing the light
straight ahead Tommy could see a dark empty space stretched out before
him.Curiosity getting the better of
him, he walked cautiously onward.Tommy
didn’t remember the inside of his closet being so big.

Up ahead, light filtered through
some of the plants.Tommy stopped and
looked behind him.He could see his
room through the open closet door.The
space in-between seemed unusually dark and far away.Fear began to kick its way into Tommy’s head and he was beginning
to wonder if he should just go back and tell his Mom.Unfortunately he had a reputation for being quite the daydreamer
and it wasn’t as if anyone was going to believe him.Besides he was always pretending to find adventure and now here
it was and he didn’t even have to leave his room.Gathering up his courage, Tommy continued on into the
darkness.

For a brief moment he thought he
could hear noises, but wasn’t sure.After several more steps Tommy found he couldn’t go on any further.In front of him was a wall of large
plants.Eager to see what was beyond,
Tommy pushed them aside and stepped out in the great unknown.